I didn't just see a documentary this past week at SXSW, I saw a movement. RiP: A Remix Manifesto, as a movie, is about the copyright vs. cultural creativity. The film itself is a self-proclaimed biased movie. Director Brett Gaylor actually encouraged the audience to boo and cheer the movie as it went along. He told us that the movie was meant to stir up emotion and make us have a reaction. We booed the bad people when they were on screen and cheered the heros.
Brett's argument is that too much of our culture is misproperly owned by corporations who want to hault the creative pulse in this country. He says that if the rules that exist now, existed 100 or 50 years ago, we wouldn't have things like Disney or The Rolling Stones. His main focus is the industry of mash-up and remix music that is extremely popular and spreading quickly.
I enjoyed the movie and respected his well supported argument, but more importantly I was astonished at the packaging of the movie. Brett has literally started a movement to remix his own movie. He has started a website and his own company that allows internet users to have full rights to clips of his movies so audience members can go home and edit new parts in.
Brett still wants to make money of course, but he realizes that yo can't fight the creative market with lawsuits and ridiculous fines. You have to embrace the change. You have to respect the creative nature of our culture and dare to inspire it further.
Technically the film is so well edited you feel like your watching him create a mash-up song as the movie unfolds. He keeps the audiences attention by referring to relevant artists such Girl Talk or showing the importance of software such as Napster and Youtube. By creating a bias movie with a clear agenda and being open about it, he allows the audience to be inspired. He gives people a reason to continue to fight against the system and build upon the great culture of entertainment that has put this country at the top of all the industries.
This is the website where you can watch the full movie in 5 minute segments. The director intros and closes each clip with a little something to say about the clip itself. This is just a cool documentary. http://www3.nfb.ca/webextension/rip-a-remix-manifesto/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with Zach. This movie is all around cool. The director, Brett Gaylor, and I apparently have something in common - we both love Girl Talk. Watching films like this for "homework" is just another reason I love being an RTF major.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love that this movie is viewable online. Gaylor is true to his message - he really wants people to remix his film. Sincerity like that is hard to find in today's money obsessed society. Technically, this is a masterpiece. The editing is seamless and fast-paced just like a mash-up by Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis). Gaylor's message is clear and completely entertaining. He defines mash-up for the audience and interviews Gillis on his thoughts on the term. He says it makes all "untouchable" music and puts it on a level playing surface with pop and rap hits of today. My favorite quote from the film is when Gregg says a mash up allows him to "put [the untouchable] Elton John in a headlock, put a beat behind him, and pour beer on his head."
I loved the visuals of this film. It was so engaging to see footage/pictures that had to do with the narration, but never in a boring or conventional way. One of the most beautiful visuals is when Gaylor depicts a mash-up by Girl Talk by showing the record covers of the songs being sampled. It showed how each relates to the next and how each builds on the other, musically and content wise. The quick paced editing (like Zach said) made the film seem like a mash-up itself. It's the visuals that really get the directors point across in a way that is accessable/easy to understand, moving, and at the same time completely entertaining
Overall, I am a big fan of this movie and everything it represents. Incredible editing, great visuals, amazing music, and an interesting subject. I'd recommend this film to anyone. Really...a must see!